Help Haitian Families Rise From Poverty to Dignity

110 Families Graduate and Begin New Lives Thanks to You

On July 27th all 110 families in the fifth cohort of Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program graduated – thanks to their hard work, perseverance, and determination, and your generosity and solidarity. Thank you for making this day possible!

Each of these families now lives in a sturdy, dignified home, has access to clean drinking water and a sanitary latrine, and can afford to pay school fees for their children. Hunger, illness, and isolation -- constant companions in the past -- are a distant memory. Their lives are forever changed, thanks to you.

Families Successfully Navigate Multiple Challenges on the Way to Graduation

As Haiti’s growing political crisis drives up the cost of living and makes basic foodstuffs more difficult to afford, families are using what they’ve learned in the program to navigate the increased financial burdens they face.

Here’s a look at some of the challenges that families have successfully navigated through, thanks to your generous support and solidarity.

• Extended Drought Delays Graduation – Extended drought on Lagonav and the rising cost of living has significantly impacted all residents of the island, including participants in the Family Graduation Program. Lagonav is now considered to be in Level 4 (Emergency) of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC); Level 5 is Famine. There are some reports of animals dying from a lack of water, lack of food, and/or illness. Families have been doing their best not to sell animals or deplete savings. Families are also struggling to put money in savings or other activities. Graduation was scheduled for the end of May; however, pushing ahead without considering the humanitarian context impacting families would jeopardize successes and gains made by families. It was decided to postpone graduation by two months to the end of July and to provide additional humanitarian support for families including additional cash stipends, support for home gardens and/or food kits. Your generosity made it possible to provide the additional activities. Thank you!
• Long Delay to Procure and Deliver Construction Materials for House Construction – The last group of 22 families finally received construction materials to begin/complete housing construction projects. The delay was due to the unavailability of those materials on Lagonav Island because providers were not able to get orders delivered from Port-au-Prince.
• Increased Cases of Illness/Sickness Reported Leading to a Shortage of Medicine – Numerous families reported flu-like symptoms, including fever. The project nurse exhausted the stock of medicine faster than expected and it was difficult to replenish because orders had to be made on the mainland. Symptoms looking like cholera were detected in the area and one participating family was affected. Caseworkers took preventative measures by conducting information sessions with participants and distributing soap and disinfectant materials.

Thank you for standing in solidarity with families while they navigated these additional challenges to make it to graduation!

Additional Activities Leading Up to Graduation Made Possible by You

Your generosity also made it possible for these activities to take place leading up to the July 27th graduation ceremony:

• 25 houses were fully completed; 85 houses were in the final stages of completion (just windows and doors to be added)
• All 110 families attended a three-day workshop on confidence building
• A new round of six-weeks of emergency cash stipends were initiated for all 110 families to help respond to increasingly worse food insecurity
• 623 animals received treatment from the project veterinarian
• 10 children of families received treatment for malnutrition

Weekly Coaching Visits Help Get Families to the Finish Line

One of the ingredients for success in the Family Graduation Program, and the reason all 110 families graduated in this, our fifth cohort, is the close accompaniment of a coach. Right away, a family that was isolated before joining the program can now count on at least one visitor every week. That's what happened when these 110 families who just graduated joined the program in November 2021.

Since then, a dedicated coach has sat with each family every week to provide support, monitor progress and brainstorm opportunities.

At group training, families can talk with fellow families who are on the same path to a brighter future. Thank you for making this kind of close accompaniment and support possible.

A Sense of Dignity, Confidence, and Independence Restored

Your support and their own hard work and determination has changed the trajectory of life for these families, restoring their dignity, confidence and independence, and giving them hope for the future. It’s that sense of confidence and dignity regained that did as much as any material item – such as livestock to breed and sell or the goods to start a small business – that your generous support provided.

That’s because families that live on the margins often feel as though they have little or no reason to hope for a better future, much less plan for one, so they don’t. Your support gave them a reason and taught them how – for the very first time – to earn a living, plan for the future, and provide for their children and themselves long after they graduate. If you have any questions about this final report, please contact Brian Stevens, Engagement Director, at (305) 450-2561 or b.stevens@beyondborders.net. Thank you again for your generosity, your care, and your concern for vulnerable children and families.

Links:

• Learn more about how the Family Graduation Program works.
• We are committed to transparency. Review our latest 990s.
• Beyond Borders has earned a Four-Star Charity Navigator rating.

Families Keep the Faith During Tough Times - Thanks to You

Thank you for your generous support for Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program. The 110 families who make up the fifth cohort continue to work at growing their income-generating assets, keeping their children healthy, fed, and in school, and repairing (or building new) homes and sanitary latrines. Thank you for your solidarity with families during this difficult time in Haiti.

A Growing Political Crisis Creates Financial Burdens for Families

As Haiti’s growing political crisis drives up the cost of living and makes basic foodstuffs more difficult to afford, families are using what they’ve learned in the past 17 months of the program to navigate the increased financial burdens they face.

For many, this means reducing or cutting back altogether on deposits to their savings accounts, and trying not to deplete existing savings or sell income-generating assets like animals to mitigate the skyrocketing cost of living. It’s proven to be a real challenge for families.

Your Generosity Provides Relief in Trying Times

To help families in these trying times, plans are being put in place to provide additional cash stipends, food kits, and support for home gardens. These measures – made possible by your generosity – are meant to strengthen each family’s capacity to navigate this crisis.

In addition to these steps, we’ve also decided to extend the program by an extra two months, pushing graduation to July. This will allow families to continue to benefit from weekly caseworker visits and to take advantage of services provided by the staff nurse and veterinarian.

Thank you for standing in solidarity with these families and making this kind of relief possible.

Families are Making Gains … Even in Challenging Times

There’s progress to share too, as families continue making their way through the program – even in the face of the profound challenges described above.

Here are some of the highlights shared by the team on Lagonav Island working with families:

Highlights (as reported in Feb. 2023, based on the period Oct.-Dec. 2022)

• Assets are growing. Families have continued to grow their assets, even in the face of a national economic meltdown. A year after starting the program, 89% of all families (98/110) had doubled their assets compared to baseline, and 21% of these (21/98) had even doubled their assets since the six month evaluation. Despite economic pressures, 80% of all participants (88/110) have savings in either a village savings and loan or a more traditional community revolving loan fund.
• Food security gains are being maintained. In the face of unprecedented food insecurity in Haiti, participant households have largely managed to maintain the gains they made earlier in the program in relation to food security and even to make some additional progress. Only two new cases of malnutrition were detected during the period, both of them under the age of five (12 months and 18 months respectively).
• Housing and hygiene improvements are progressing. Five more families were able to complete their housing upgrades and, thanks to the collaboration of local authorities and Village Committee members, another 34 have now received support from qualified local builders to move them closer to finalizing their own upgrades. Positive sanitation and caretaking behaviors have improved significantly as indicated by case manager observations and evaluation data. Almost all participants have now completed their latrines. The percentage of households practicing open defecation has dropped from 93% to 2% with the final goal being 0%.

Your continued solidarity and generosity will allow families to maintain these kinds of gains despite the current crisis in Haiti. Thank you!

A Mom Shares How Life Has Transformed for Her Family – Thanks to You

Your generosity is making it possible for some of the very poorest families to change the trajectory of their lives. Here, in her own words, is a member of the current cohort sharing how life has changed for her family.

Josenika, a 19-year-old mother of two, shared first about being cast out by her family while pregnant with her second child. Then she explained her experience as part of the Family Graduation Program:

“I didn’t have anything before this program. But regular visits from [caseworkers] started right after I joined the program. Through the program, I got one goat. Now I have three! And I have a donkey too. I also received a cash stipend. Thanks to the program, I have completely changed the way I live. Every time [my caseworker] comes for a visit, I feel there is reason to hope. [Caseworkers] don’t talk down to me as though I know nothing. They simply say, ‘This is how you can live. Even myself, this is what I always do.’

“They taught us how to always treat the water we drink and even the water I use to bathe the children because the children always had skin problems. When my child was sick, I didn’t have enough money to take him to the hospital. The nurse came to my house and said he had an ear infection. She told me to come down to the office so [they] could give me money to go to the hospital. The ear was bleeding. At the hospital, they treated him and prescribed some medicine. The nurse purchased the medicine for me, I gave it to him and he hasn’t been sick since. I didn’t know what I was going to do but thanks to the program that my child can play now and he’s healthy. Me too! I was sick - always dizzy. [Caseworkers] helped me find medicine and now I feel normal.

“I went to a training session to learn how to treat sick animals. I never knew how to do that before. Now I know what to do when one of my goats gets sick. The program showed me how to save money too. Out of every bit of money I make, I put some of it into my savings account. I have a plan to finish this house that the program helped me build. When it’s time for the village savings and loan to pay out interest, I’ll take the money and finish the house. I’ll also spend part of the money to send my oldest child to school.

“Before I never really left the house or went to any community activities. Thanks to the program, I am now part of society. I have livestock. I have a house. I have hope that even if something bad happens, I can solve the problem. I would love for others to benefit from the same support that I did.”

Thank You Again

Your generosity and solidarity are making all the difference for families in a difficult moment for Haiti. Thank you for continuing to stand with families and ensure the gains they’ve made through hard work and perseverance can be maintained, even in times of crisis.

If you have any questions about what you read here, please contact Brian Stevens, Engagement Director, at (305) 450-2561 or b.stevens@beyondborders.net.

Links:

• Read the Spring 2023 Impact Report for the latest from Haiti.
• Take a Virtual Tour of Beyond Borders' work in Haiti.
• We're using an approach proven to lift families out of poverty.

You Ensure Families Have Resources Needed to Navigate this Challenging Moment and Secure their Future

I am so grateful for your generous support for Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program. Thank you again!

As the security situation in Port-au-Prince worsens by the day, places like rural Lagonav Island are starting to feel the impact. Imports of goods from the mainland have stopped, driving up the cost of food and fuel, and banks are either closed or limiting withdrawals.

In this difficult moment, your support is making all the difference for the 110 families in this current cohort -- giving them the tools they need to navigate the economic effects of the growing political crisis and secure their future.

Highlighting What You Made Possible this Quarter

Thanks to you and your generosity, families have completed 11 months of the 18-month program. Regular activities continued throughout the quarter with weekly visits with each family, to the extent allowed. With fuel scarce, case workers doubled-up on motorcycles and traveled to communities together when and where possible.

The project nurse made regular house calls and the project veterinarian supported participants with animal health care. A short refresher training on asset management for families took place. The socio-economic crisis on the island is also affecting participants, so, a decision was made to provide an additional six weeks of the cash stipend that is provided during the first 24 weeks of the program. Additionally, your generosity makes it possible to provide 37 families with replacement animals for those who had animals die in the past two quarters. 

Here’s some more of what you made possible this quarter through your support:

• 102 families participated in an Asset Management Refresher Training workshop
• 1,077 home visits conducted by case managers this quarter
• 10 family members received medical support from the project nurse and/or health clinic/hospital
• 109 families have completed latrine construction and/or repairs
• 78 families are in the process of repairing their houses; five have completed construction
• 98 families are members of local savings and loans associations/groups
• 118 goats, 75 pigs, 19 donkeys and one cow were treated by the project veterinarian

Priorities for the Months Ahead

The priority in the coming months will be to finish house repairs/construction. Originally graduation was slated for some time in April 2023; however, the program is running at least six weeks behind schedule, with graduation tentatively slated for early June, pending any significant changes.

You Make it Possible to Expand the Village Savings and Loans Program

One of the key ways that your support is making a lasting difference is through the launch of village savings and loan associations on Lagonav Island that families in the program are invited to join.

Supporters like you have made it possible to launch 24 village savings and loan associations on Lagonav Island since the start of the Family Sponsorship Program in 2016. These associations -- many of which are the only source of formal banking in their community -- are able to continue functioning even in these difficult times.

These local sources of economic power serve more than 1,000 members -- 845 of whom are women. Nearly 80 percent of members are also adult survivors of child slavery.

Volunteer members -- elected by other members -- manage the loans and repayments, and the modest interest collected is distributed proportionately to members, while the credit fuels new local businesses and jobs. Each village savings and loan also has an emergency fund that members can vote to draw from when a member family is facing a crisis.

Your Support Empowers Families to Transform Their Lives

Do you know just how transformative your generous support is for families in the Family Graduation Program? I'm sharing this testimony of Natanaëlle, a current program participant because she will tell you. After sharing how she became a young mother at 18 and her journey from the southeast of Haiti to Lagonav Island, Natanaëlle, a 33-year-old, mother of two, explains what it has been like for her participating in the 5th Cohort of the Family Graduation Program.

“At the beginning I receive tichocho [cash stipends] for 24 weeks. That money helped me so much with my children. I bought food. I paid school fees. I bought shoes for our feet.

I was also challenged to join a Village Savings and Loans group. Now I have 15,550 gourdes in savings. We received training about saving. We learned that all work is noble as long as it doesn’t ruin your reputation. Even if someone didn’t finish school, they can work. There are days when I sell prepared food for 500 gourdes and I would take all the money and put it in my account. When I go help make charcoal, I might be paid 120 or 130 gourdes. With that money, I buy food and I save some, too.

I’m working now. I’m painting. I’m doing the job for 20,000 gourdes. When it is time for school, I’ll use the money for school supplies and things like barrettes, socks, etc.

Each September, the savings and loan group divides up the interest money. I plan to buy a goat and two chickens with the money. With the rest of the money, I’ll pay school fees. And, I’ll save some of it for my future dreams.

As part of the program, I also received two goats and a pig. I chose those animals. My two goats haven’t reproduced yet. But the pig was eating too much! So, I called my case worker to see if I could sell it. She said, ‘sure’. So, with that money I bought another little goat and also bought food for the house.

Because I am participating in the program, I now have my own house. When I started the program, I didn’t have my own house. My children and I lived with other people. Sometimes when I was out, I would come back to find [my] door open. My things disappeared from time to time. I couldn’t say anything about it because I was told that it wasn’t my house anyway and that I didn’t have the right to be upset if my things went missing. It seemed there was always someone around to say something hurtful to me.

In the eyes of society, I have become a different person.

Before people looked down on me. Now I have many people who call me and share advice. I have friends. I feel proud. I’m a new person.

I’m grateful to Eustache, Moseline, Chile, and all the case workers like Girlande because without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. The way that they spoke to me and the support they gave me helped me grow. I have reached a new level [in my life] and I can say it’s thanks to them!”

Thank You

I hope you take pride in what you are helping to make possible for these 110 families. Through their own hard work and determination -- together with the opportunity that your support affords them -- they are breaking the generational cycle of extreme poverty that once trapped them in a life of destitution and hopelessness.

If you have any questions about this report, please call or write to me anytime at (305) 450-2561 or b.stevens@beyondborders.net. Thank you again for your generosity, your care, and your concern for families. I am grateful!

Links:

• Go in-depth! Read the latest Impact Report from Haiti.
• We've earned a 4-Star rating on Charity Navigator - the highest.

Visiting Lagonav Island, Meeting Families, and Celebrating Successes - Thanks to You

We’re back from a week on Lagonav Island with good news about families in the fifth cohort of the Family Graduation Program -- thanks to you.

They continue to make steady progress earning money, saving for a rainy day, and making plans for the future in ways that they simply couldn't have imagined doing before.

Thank you again for your generous support! In fact, thanks to you and so many other supporters like you, all 110 families in the current cohort of the family sponsorship program are well on the way to transforming their lives.

Your Generosity Supports Weekly Accompaniment for Families 

Thanks to the weekly training and accompaniment that supporters like you make possible, families are helping to build -- or rebuild -- their home, joining local savings and loans, and bringing home children who they sent away because they were too poor to care for them.

Anticipation, Hope, Hard Work, and Determination 

Being in Haiti and meeting with families, it is deeply moving to witness the anticipation and hope on the faces of parents. Through their own hard work and determination -- together with the opportunity that your support affords them -- they are breaking the generational cycle of extreme poverty that once doomed them to a life of utter destitution.

To be sure, life is still challenging, as so many families told us. The skyrocketing cost of everyday things like rice, cooking oil, and flour continues to squeeze families. But for the first time ever, these families now have the means to provide for themselves and a sense that they have some measure of control over their own destiny. Your solidarity is giving them not just the means to earn a living in the short-term, but the training, accompaniment, and confidence they need to thrive well after your sponsorship ends.

A Six-Month Self-Evaluation Finds Remarkable Gains 

We’re excited to share results from a six-month self-evaluation that found remarkable gains among most of the 110 families in the 18-month program. Here's a look:

• 97 percent have seen their assets grow with a median growth rate of 142 percent!
• 95 percent have remained healthy in the past month.
• 94 percent have at least one income-generating source, up from zero percent.
• 94 percent are regularly contributing to savings, up from 25 percent.
• 93 percent regularly use a latrine, up from 89 percent.
• 89 percent are making plans for the future, up from 11 percent.
• 88 percent practice good hygiene with their families, up from 71 percent.
• 88 percent now have basic literacy skills, up from 78 percent.
• 87 percent participate in community-organized activities, up from nine percent.
• 48 percent have two hot meals a day, up from zero percent.

Your support makes it possible for caseworkers to conduct weekly one-on-one coaching visits with families, where they use these key benchmarks to measure each family's progress. Thank you again. Your generosity and your solidarity are empowering them to overcome extreme poverty, gain financial independence, and transform their lives for good!

Families are on the Road to Financial Independence, Thanks to You

Your support is also making a series of key financial interventions possible that collectively will ensure that families can earn a dignified living and provide for themselves long after they graduate from the program.

In addition to the livestock and goods to start a small business that supporters like you make possible for families, this past February all 110 families in the current cohort of the program got training in how to start and maintain a savings account.

Now that families have savings accounts they are creating village savings and loans in their communities, to invest their savings and borrow to expand their small business, or in times of crisis when they need emergency funds.

Families are also getting regular training in how to manage their new businesses, along with weekly cash stipends for the first six months of the program to help them stabilize their household income and focus on developing their earning capacity.

I'm so grateful for all that you make possible for families. Thank you again for your generosity and your solidarity as they work to overcome extreme poverty, gain financial independence, and transform their lives for good!

Annia’s Story: New Friends, New Skills, New Hope

Annia is a participant in the Family Graduation Program. She is 32-years-old and lives with her two daughters, ages 11 and 3 in Pikmi on Lagonav Island.

Before she joined the program, Annia did not have any friends in her community, apart from some family. Annia often did not have food to feed her girls so her mother would help when she could.

Annia used to buy a small sack of rice to sell. She would buy on credit but often she would be unable to make enough money because she would need to use some of the rice to feed her children. Sometimes, she would try and grow papayas, too.

Since joining the Family Graduation Program, Annia has made new friends. She began to apply what she learned in training about vegetable gardening. She joined a Village Savings and Loan Association, saving a bit of the weekly stipend she began receiving at the start of the project.

She picked goats and small business support as the two assets she wanted. With some additional savings she has been able to collect, she started a small business selling makeup and food staples. Today she has 12,000 gourdes in her savings account.

Annia has new hope for her future, thanks to the support of people like you.

Thank You Again

Your generosity and solidarity with families is transforming the trajectory of their lives, giving them the opportunity to earn a dignified living and provide for their children and themselves long after they graduate. If you have any questions about this report, please call or write to me anytime at (305) 450-2561 or b.stevens@beyondborders.net. Thank you again for your generosity, your care, and your concern for families. I am grateful!

Links:

• Check us out on Charity Navigator!
• Follow us on Twitter for updates from Haiti.
• Sign-up for a virtual tour of our work in Haiti!

Thank You for Your Support for the Fifth Cohort of 110 Families in Haiti

Your generous support for the fifth cohort of 110 families in Beyond Borders' Family Graduation Program means that they will overcome extreme poverty for good -- and for that I can never thank you enough!

You probably know by now that as families enter the program your support provides animals like goats, pigs, chickens, and donkeys that families will raise and breed to begin earning a reliable income.

Your Support Makes it Possible to Distribute 216 Goats, 42 Pigs, and Nine Donkeys

I’m happy to share that the distribution of animals for families in the fifth cohort – which launched last fall – is complete! Thanks to you and your generosity, 216 goats, 42 pigs, and nine donkeys were distributed to families between January 5th and March 31st of this year. Fourteen more families also selected goods like pasta, cooking oil, water, flour, and other staple items to start a small store.

Your support also made it possible for a vet to examine every animal before the distribution, to ensure that families were getting healthy animals to raise and breed. The vet has also made follow-up visits to families to ensure that their animals are healthy.

These animals and goods are the cornerstone of economic independence for these families. Thank you for making this distribution possible!

You Make So Much More Than Just Goats Possible

Your support is providing so much more than just goats, though! Education and close accompaniment are at the heart of what your gift makes possible for families in the program.

You make it possible for a trained, dedicated caseworker to make weekly visits to families throughout the 18-months of the program, providing coaching, intensive education and training in how to care for and produce income from their new animals, and ongoing classes in life-skills like how to start a savings account, and how to set goals and plan for the future.

Your support also makes it possible for families to have access to free veterinary care for their new animals and free health care for themselves. Home repairs -- or building an entirely new home -- latrine construction, and a small cash subsidy of just over $6 U.S. per week during the period before they are bringing in income are also part of what your support makes possible.

Water Filters, Savings Accounts, and Support to Bring Home Children Previously Sent Away

One hundred water filters were distributed to families – 10 families already had filters provided by the local government – to ensure that every family has safe, clean water for drinking and cooking.

Thanks to you, families are also getting help to bring home any children they’ve sent away and enroll them in a quality school close to home.

And all 110 families now have been trained in how to start and maintain a savings account too. 

What is Most Special About Your Support: The Close Accompaniment of Families 

But perhaps what is most special about your support is the close accompaniment of families that it makes possible -- something we believe is absolutely essential for success.

Many of the families selected for the program are isolated from their community, in part because of their extreme poverty. They really feel alone and need close accompaniment and relationship building. This emphasis on accompaniment and building relationships among families in the program fits well with Beyond Borders’ ethic and the way we work in communities. It's an approach rooted in the dignity, solidarity, and grassroots empowerment of families -- and it's made possible by you.

Your Support is Keeping Parents and Children like Sonson Healthy

One of the ways you are making a difference is by keeping parents and children in the program healthy. Here’s the story of a mom in the program whose infant son got the care he needed thanks to you. 

During the baseline health screenings that happen when families first join the program -- screenings that are made possible by you -- program nurse Cassandre saw that 8-month-old Sonson* was likely suffering from malnutrition. He could not sit up, his skin showed signs of serious dehydration, and his body was covered with a rash. Cassandre made a referral to the island's only hospital and organized for Jeanèse, Sonson's mom, to make the hour-long journey with her son.

The pediatrician at the hospital diagnosed Sonson with severe acute malnutrition. He weighed not quite eight pounds -- less than half that of a healthy 8-month-old boy. The hospital gave Sonson some medicine, but they did not have the ready-to-use therapeutic food that he needed to overcome his severe malnutrition. Cassandre however was able to locate it at another clinic, and she also purchased a stock of fortified milk for Jeanèse to give to Sonson as a supplement.

Supporters like you make this kind of care for children like Sonson possible. One month after he began his nutritional therapy, Sonson weighed almost 12 pounds and his health was much improved. He will continue to receive the therapeutic food, fortified milk and follow-up visits from Cassandre until he has fully recovered.

His mom Jeanèse told us that she is determined to take advantage of her participation in the Family Graduation Program to pull her family out of poverty. And thanks to supporters like you, she's already gotten training in how to manage the two goats and one pig that she received and will use to launch her livestock business.

She's also taken part in training on the importance of growing and eating vegetables for better nutrition. Using a portion of her weekly program stipend that sponsors make possible, she has already been able to put aside 3,500 Gourdes (about $35 USD) in savings. As of today she reports that her family is eating more often and her case manager has observed that she is taking better care of her children.

It's this kind of care, concern, and close accompaniment -- made possible for all 110 families in this cohort thanks to supporters like you -- that's behind the 97 percent graduation rate at the end of the 18-month program.

*Not his real name

Thank You Again

Your generosity and solidarity with these families is transforming the trajectory of their lives, giving them the opportunity to earn a dignified living and provide for their children and themselves long after they graduate. If you have any questions about this report, please call or write to me anytime at (305) 450-2561 or b.stevens@beyondborders.net. Thank you again for your generosity, your care, and your concern for these families. I am grateful!

Links:

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